A teen and a second suspect were charged with murder after a 12-year-old and 14-year-old were shot and killed in Northeast D.C. this spring, authorities say.
Mhilo Young, who was 12, was shot 18 times, and Tyale Coates, 14, was shot 12 times.
Antonio Terry, 18, was arrested Sunday and charged with first-degree murder while armed, the office of U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said. He appeared in D.C. Superior Court and was ordered held without bond.
A second suspect, Markell Woodings, was arrested and charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder while armed, the interim police chief said at a news conference.
Young and Coates were outside a convenience store in the 700 block of Kenilworth Avenue NE during their spring break the afternoon of April 14 when shooters sprayed the area with bullets. The boys had just bought French fries and juice from a food truck.
When the gunmen heard there were two boys from the neighborhood they were beefing with at the Circle 7, they drove there in a stolen car and opened fire, court documents say.
Court documents say “three masked males” in a black, stolen Honda Accord drove up to the entrance of the Circle 7 Express store, got out, opened fire and sped off.
Investigators found 70 shell casings on the scene.
It appears the victims were targeted in retaliation because of their neighborhood, not who they were, the chief said. Witnesses told police the shooting was in retaliation for a shooting of two individuals just days before, according to charging documents.
Detectives tied the cases together with the help of video, witnesses and forensic evidence, D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said.
Police needed months to investigate before they were confident filing charges.
“It’s right along 295, so there’s, you know, a lot of information’s coming. So, the tips and information that we got from the community were very helpful,” Carroll said. “Also, there was video and pictures that were provided by community members that were in that area and happened to see that. So, it’s instrumental in helping us to help develop suspects in the case and also within this whole investigation.”
Coates was an eighth grader at KIPP DC Valor Academy, and Young was a former student there, KIPP DC said in a statement this spring.
“Both students were cherished members of the KIPP DC Valor Academy family, and their loss is profoundly felt by our students, staff, and families,” the school said.
D.C. residents told News4 after the shooting they were heartbroken and angry to hear that two children so young were killed.
“These kids are babies!” community activist Terra Martin said.
Police found what they believe was the stolen getaway car set on fire in Prince George’s County.
Terry is due in court Nov. 9.
“This is very early on in this investigation,” Terry’s attorney Todd Baldwin said. “I would urge all people to understand Mr. Terry’s presumption of innocence and let justice system play out.”
Information on Woodings’ court date was not immediately released.
The search for another suspect is ongoing.
